What do I remember with this Pancit Palabok?

July 10, 2023

Anyeong Chingu!! How are you? Hope you are all doing fine.

It has been so long since I was not here again. I have been busy, as always, and sometimes demotivated to be in the blogging world. Since I have a story to tell, I will write for tonight.

You see the picture above. It is a picture of Pancit Palabok. It is a Chinese thick white noodle that has orange sauce and different spices and flavors. This is my all-time favorite breakfast when I was young and whenever I eat it at present, I remember a certain story from my childhood.

I think I am the kind of person who always values the good memories and everything that is attached to it, or something that I will remember my childhood, I always get back to the story. When I was young, my parents were always working. There is no one to look after me when my sister is at school. My father, from his job, will go straight to our house to pick me up because my mother has an AM shift at work and no one will take care of me. My father will pick me up and he will leave me to the store of a friend that is near his post. He is a traffic enforcer, by the way, and he has lots of friends in the nearby market that he can leave me there. He will ask me what I want to eat and I will say "Pancit Palabok".

I usually left in the public market, where people are selling spices, fish, meat, and some wet fresh foods. My father has a friend there that I called "Manong" or the old man and he will take care of me while he is selling onions, garlic, calamansi, and some spices. Sometimes, I am the one giving the change to his buyers. I do the math and I was trained there to count. Sometimes, I become the one that sells the vegetables and he will give me some penny after, in exchange for my service. I remember I was only five years old back then. When there are no buyers, I will talk to other vendors. They call me "Japanese baby" because they thought I was a little Japanese girl due to my color. I was pale white and chubby. I make friends with the buyers. When I get bored, Manong will give me comics or song hits. Then after a while, he will give me Pancit Palabok again because that is what I only want to eat.

All of the people there are kind. They teach me how to read and count. I teach them how to sing. They are all funny too because they keep on making fun of each other. I think their life might be hard due to insufficient income but they are happy. They are simple people but they have a soft heart and always wants to help my father. Whenever I eat Pancit Palabok, I always remember them. I wonder if they are still there in the public market. I wonder if they are still alive and hopefully, they are. Because of them, I am safe and my childhood is colorful because, at a younger age, I met wonderful simple people that love me. I think they are the reason why I know the meaning of "hard work" because at a young age, I saw it on my own eyes. I hope they are all still there.

Image is mine

All original content by @Grecy095